Comments on: 4 Low-Cost Options for Setting up an Online T-shirt Shop

By: HASH

HASH — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 13:02:25 +0000

Okay, that’s not any good Patrick. There has to be another solution, I’m going to look into some things, then get back to you through email.

By: Patrick Gathara

Patrick Gathara — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 06:35:28 +0000

hash,
Here’s the text of an email I got from Spreadshirt when I inquired about setting up a shop in Africa. Just reinforces what you were saying.

Hello Patrick,

Thank you for your email.

We do not ship to Africa, so you would not be able to purchase your own products. Also, we only pay out commission through PayPal, so you would have to have a PayPal account which can receive funds in order to earn commission. You can be a Shop partner to our US site from anywhere in the world. To make sure you are eligible, please check our Terms of Service

Signing up and setting up your shop is completely free and we give you discounts on the base prices of all Spreadshirt shirts to make your designs affordable to your customers. For a price list, please visit Products and Printing

You can order just one item or hundreds of items at great discount prices, or you can sell your designs and make some money.

To get started, go to Open a Free Spreadshop

Please feel free to contact me if you have any further questions.

Sincerely,

Temple Williams
Customer Service

Spreadshirt – the world’s creative apparel platform!

Phone: 1-800-381-0815
Fax: 1-877-202-0251

By: beninmwangi

beninmwangi — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 11:49:39 +0000

Hash:

Thanks for the great info. I did not know that so many of these services were available for business people living in various parts of Africa. As you said it is quite interesting that these services do not extend the full range of benefits to Africa in the Diaspora, but I hope to hear about a service that does break that mold-soon!

By: Patrick Gathara

Patrick Gathara — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 19:25:58 +0000

Too true. And I bet there’s a tonne of cash to be made setting something up. Reminds me of the way mobile telephony on the continent was pooh-poohed as a non-starter and now companies are raking in the billions. I think African web entrepreneurs should seriously explore this opportunity. What do you think the challenges would be?

By: HASH

HASH — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 14:50:57 +0000

Patrick, this is exactly the reason that I see such a need for an eCommerce solution that fits Africa. If you’re an African living in Africa, well you can’t use PayPal (outside of limited usage in SA), and it’s difficult to get checks mailed to you without an outside-Africa mailing address.

So, though the world is open to you on the web, you’re still hamstrung. There is a virtual feast of eCommerce solutions sitting just out of your reach.

Why can’t someone create a solution for this? Seriously, this is doable. There is no reason for the continuation of providing anti-African solutions in the marketplace.

By: Patrick Gathara

Patrick Gathara — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 13:57:49 +0000

Spoke too soon. Looks like I require to have an address in either the EU or in the US to set up on Spreadshirt. Don’t quite understand why. Also it’s rather difficult to navigate their pages.

OK. Moving on, I’ll give Cafepress a whirl and see whether they’re more Africa-friendly.

By: Patrick Gathara

Patrick Gathara — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 13:27:02 +0000

Thanks. I’ll try out Spreadshirt (though they say I have to set up two shops if I wish to sell to both the US and EU). I’ll let you know how it goes.

By: HASH

HASH — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 13:15:26 +0000

Patrick, it’s quite simple really. There are only two basic requirements:

1. You can put the caricatures into a digital format that doesn’t loose resolution when the size is increased. So, a jpg or png format at a nice size resolution (I go for about 10 inches wide) works best.

2. The ability to upload the images to the service you choose.

The good thing is that all of these companies send you checks once you’ve met a certain sales amount, generally $50. I might try Spreadshirt if you’re doing it from Kenya, since they seem to be the most international, but Cafepress might work as well.

If you do set it up, let me know.

By: Patrick Gathara

Patrick Gathara — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 13:08:13 +0000

Thanks for the info. I wonder how easy it would be to set up an online shop selling T-shirts with my caricatures on them. Any advice?